Hello solids.

Cath:  Exciting times!  Josh has been having a go at solids for about a week now.  He isn't quite big enough for a highchair yet so we decided to get him a Bumbo.  They're quite pricey so we were blessed to find one on Gumtree, second hand but half the price.  An interesting lilac colour hmm... But suitable for potential future female sibling(s) too :)  He looks so cute with his little feet sticking out and his hands resting on the arms, like he own little armchair!  Love it.  He seems pretty happy in there.  He has been sitting in it on the counter in the kitchen while I do the washing up, enjoying handling the kitchen utensils.  Especially liking spatulas.

So we started with some baby rice.  It is really just like thick formula, so not very exciting.  He is sometimes more interested in the blue plastic bowl and the spoon which he keeps trying to hold, meaning it goes everywhere.  Yes, everywhere.  But some of it does seem to get down and he eats it quite happily.  We think he is becoming more vocal - he certainly lets us know when he has had enough!!

Then we stocked on some more interesting veg and we got going with making some exciting purees with helpful ideas from the Baby Sense food book (thanks Granzy!).  Sweet potatoes, baby marrows and butternut is recipe 1, then carrots, parsnips and butternut is recipe 2.  They're yum!  Packed them into ice cube trays, then into zip lock bags - a fortnight of meals?  He seems to really like the veg - chows it down.  And attempts at the blue bowl too.

So with about 4 milk feeds, 1 baby rice and 2 veg meals, we really are feeding him all day!  He is getting 2 or 3 naps in there, plus play time in between - his toys are very interesting now (taste good too) and just about anything else he can get his hands on!  Bath is around 7:30 and he asleep usually before 8:30.  He is sleeping well most of the time - since starting solids last week he has had another 11 hour stretch at night (haven't had that in a while), but then also a 2am, 3am and 6am waking one night too hmm....  In summary we are loving him to bits, our bright, energetic, smiley, giggly and oh-so-cute little man!

 

Joshy language, yummy hands and giggles... Live!

Cath: We caught Josh on film full of pre-bath excitement last night!  Enjoy....

I was born last year

Josh:  So I can now say I was born last year!  Happy happy Christmas and New Year to you all.  Well it has been a while since I last wrote, but I have been so busy spending time with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Ruth in Cornwall, and then with Granzy in Bathgate.... What fun we have had.  Daddy and mommy really appreciated having their family around to help play with me, and they even got to hang out together, including a Michelin-starred dinner - Christmas treat from daddy! - and snowboarding!  I got sooo many lovely gifts too.  Thank you to all my very generous family and friends! 

So there is quite a lot to tell you about the things I have learnt and been doing over the last month or so.  Here are some of them...

- Right now I am busy babbling away in my cot.  I talk Joshy-language.  It is quite advanced and consists of many differents expressions and noises.  I don't really like sleeping during the day.  There is just so much going on!  I don't want to miss anything!  But if I don't sleep I get a little grumpy at night time, so mommy puts me in my cot and I lie there talking to myself and watching my mobile.  I usually do go to sleep eventually, even if it sounds like I don't want to.  Talking about not wanting to miss anything, I've been promoted to big-boy position in the pushchair - sitting up more and facing forwards so I can see what's going on.  I also like to face outwards in the sling now, mostly so I can see what mommy is cooking for dinner.  Very important stuff.

- I get to have baths every night now.  Bath times really are fun.  Usually I have had a yummy milk bottle, then I bounce around in my bouncer for a while, which warms me up for kicking and splashing in the bath!  Kick kick kick.  I like kicking.  They also make me feel nice and relaxed for sleep time.  I also like having my nappy changed.  It's a sure way to get me giggling!  Good thing that happens a lot.  I am working on my backstroke in the bath.  Since I like the water so much now, mommy is going to take me to swimming lessons soon.  We can go to some at our local swimming pool.

- I can now push up for a while on my tummy.  It's kind of frustrating though.  My legs wave around behind me.  I have figured out how to roll over onto my back, so if I have had enough of being on my tummy, that is handy!  I'm hoping to get a Bumbo which will help me sit up, and also will help when I start my first solids - baby rice and a special veg mix...  next week??  I can't sit on my own yet, but can with the help of some pillows.

- I have discovered my hands!  Yum yum.  They always taste so nice and I have them in my mouth most of the time.  I am also starting to like the taste of other things, like blankie, Tigger and my cloth books.  They feel nice too.  I like to pull Tigger's tail and give him hugs and eat his nose.

- I learnt how to blow raspberries!  Not sure who taught me that hmmm...?  Blowing bubbles, making funny noises and everything wet!  Well it was so much fun I decided to do it continuously for about 3 days.  I haven't done it in a while though.  Since discovering my hands which are keeping me well entertained these days.

Well I am off to play.  Will leave you with a shot of me in my bear suit, demonstrating my "concerned" look.  Big hugs.

Look at me bounce!

Josh:  This is me in my new bouncer!  It is pretty cool and I get to see in the lounge or in the kitchen and grandma and grandpa's.  I go round and round, up and down.  I picked up really quickly what I needed to do - easy!  Bouncing is fun.  Hippo blankie likes to keep me company.  But I need another blankie to prop me up a little cos I'm still a bit small...  See me go!

Reasons why Josh is a Star

Cath:  Well I think you all know he is already, but thought I'd just highlight some of the reasons in case there is any doubt.

- He slept for almost 9 continuous hours last night!  I think that is reason enough to make him a big star.  Okay I admit, I got up in the night still to check he was alive, and another time to get some water and swing via the ladies' room, and I was so wide awake at 6am... before Josh!  A whole night's sleep is rather strange and unfamiliar territory.

- He smiles loads.  He smiles when you smile at him, when you poke his nose, pull his ears or make funny noises.  We have been trying to get Josh to go to bed earlier, about 9pm would be ideal (any earlier would be pushing it!).  Our strategy is to give him a bath, lots of bedtime food, then swaddle him tightly.  Sometimes this makes him sleepy, but other times he just lies there staring at us, his forehead all wrinkled, his eyes open so wide.  And he smiles!  So we say, "not time for smiles now, Joshy, sleepy time", but he keeps on smiling, so irresistibly.  He is actually pretty good, because if he has had enough to eat he will just lie there until he eventually goes to sleep.  Sometimes even so quietly that we go in to check on him, thinking he is asleep, but his eyes are still wide open.

- He likes his new cot.  We have heard of people who have had issues moving their babies to new rooms and new beds, but Josh loves his.  When he manages to break out of his swaddle, he lies with his arms stretched out to the sides - no longer above his head but with all this space, why not to the sides?  And we have even found him lying diagonally.... who knows....

- His first word is "Ugoo".  Now we have always known him to be a clever boy, and we think this word is rather appropriate - "Igloo" in the snow?  Or yes I "agree"?  It has multiple purposes it seems.  In fact, it can be used any time, anywhere, or in the French variation "u-ggggooo" you need to gurgle the g's.

I could go on and on just watching him all day and telling you about it, but I think you can see why we think our little man is pretty cool.  A little shining star in our lives.

Playgym fun

Cath:  Josh has learnt to keep himself entertained on the playgym :)

And full of smiles today!

My new bed

Josh:  It was all very exciting because daddy got to stay home yesterday and today due to snow, which gave him chance to finish off my new bed!  I have almost completely outgrown my moses basket so daddy got it finished just in time.  Well it is almost finished really - he is just busy engraving a big Winnie the Pooh and Piglet picture onto one of the ends right now.  He has also added "Veritas Vincit" above the picture, which is the Keith clan motto, meaning "Truth Conquers", so I can remember my Scottish heritage and especially its great and special meaning.  And daddy is going to find some baby-safe gloss to preserve the wood and make it look nice.

It is a cot-bed meaning it can convert into a bigger bed, so will last a long time. Well untill I get a little brother or sister to boot me out.  Right now I look so tiny in it!  But mommy and daddy and put me right down at the bottom so that my feet touch the end to keep me safe and cosy.  I had a good night's sleep in it last night!  Just woke up as usual when I was hungry.  Daddy did a great job.  But now mommy is wondering how she is going to cope when I leave home one day when I am big, after feeling this emotional about me moving 8 metres into my own room across the hallway!!  Oh dear.

Here is a pic of me with the new engravings:

 And this is me in the cot before the engraving:

And this is me striking a cute pose for you: